Residents launch legal action against Île-Bizard mayor
Lawsuit alleges lack of preparation led to hardships for borough’s most vulnerable
As ice cold flood waters overtook sections of Île-Bizard in early May, were the poor, the elderly and the handicapped left to fend for themselves?
That’s the question at the heart of a class-action lawsuit filed in Superior Court against the mayor and borough of Île-Bizard-Ste-Geneviève on May 24. The document alleges that a lack of preparation by the administration of Mayor Normand Marinacci cost people their homes and or thousands of dollars in damage.
The plaintiffs claim that while neighbouring cities appeared to receive substantial assistance from their borough, there weren’t enough sandbags made available on Île-Bizard. Furthermore, the suit alleged, members of the military who had offered to sandbag around a trailer park on the island were called off by the city.
“I encountered the military (in the trailer park) and they talked to me about their frustration with the mayor not giving permission to help this area,” Île-Bizard resident Robert Idsinga wrote, in a sworn statement.
In past statements Marinacci has praised the work of his borough’s employees, volunteers and the military, saying they all did their best to fend off the flood.
While trying to collect signatures for his lawsuit in the trailer park, Idsinga says it was mostly empty but that those “left behind” were mainly the elderly, the poor and those with physical and mental handicaps.
“Most people I encountered expressed that they felt abandoned by the borough,” he said. “This area was declared contaminated as the drinking water being undrinkable … so people were advised not to drink at all.
“Some of the people told me that they were drinking the water anyway, because they were physically unable to go out and get bottled water.”
Many, he claims, are burnt out from having to pump water from their homes and others haven’t been able to work for over a month.
He says one volunteer group refused to work with the borough because of their work being “hampered” by the mayor.
Meanwhile, residents in neighbouring Île-Mercier — a tiny island community linked to Île-Bizard by a small bridge — are still living in a hotel more than six weeks after flooding began.
Pierre-Luc Cauchon says the island was well prepared against surging waters but the bridge remains closed to traffic because of potential damage sustained during the flood.
“We were prepared but I think the city is being extra careful with the bridge,” he said. “We’re anxious to go home.”